This timely book will help policymakers and practitioners convert their visions of high-quality early education into on-the-ground reality by providing a much-needed, richly detailed look at how states can design, fund, and manage exemplary programs. The authors describe and analyze how four states--Michigan, West Virginia, Washington, and North Carolina--have built early education systems that positively affect student outcomes. Sharing a commitment to advancing key elements of a quality preschool education, each of the states developed programs with different enrollment requirements, services, and oversight. All of them, however, rely on common overarching strategies, such as: establishing standards and supporting improvement, investing in knowledgeable educators, coordinating and aligning early education programs with elementary school, seeking sufficient funding sources and mechanisms, and building broad-based support. This book offers powerful lessons for anyone who is committed to delivering engaging, age-appropriate preschool programs for all. The book features: (1) provides a comprehensive examination of how states can build high-quality early education systems, and what that looks like at the local level; (2) addresses both the design and implementation of early education programs that can foster gains in school readiness and other long-term benefits; (3) identifies the themes that can guide program development and expansion at all levels and across diverse contexts. (4) demonstrates how well-crafted local policy and skilled management sustain good classroom practice; (5) shows how to effectively manage early education programs and create linkages among the broad array of state agencies supporting children and families; and (5) emphasizes the central role that teachers play in changing children's lives and helps teachers understand why they are expected to follow certain practices. [Co-written with Titilayo Tinubu Ali, Madelyn Gardner, Anna Maier, Hanna Melnick, and Patrick M. Shields.]